Good morning. In this edition:

• 🗳️ Democrats are losing voter support
• 🚘 Waymo in NYC
• 🍕 How the Domino's pizza tracker conquered the business world

…and much more.

Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~3.31-minute read (880 words).

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“Be approximately right rather than exactly wrong.”

–John Tukey (1915-2000)

Blue may be the most popular color in the world—but fewer Americans are choosing it on their voter cards.

The Democratic Party saw a mass exodus of registered voters during the Biden administration, according to a New York Times analysis of voter registration data compiled by nonpartisan firm L2.

Let’s break it down: Between the 2020 and 2024 elections, all 30 US states that track voter registration by political party—plus Washington, DC—saw Democrats lose ground to Republicans, per the NYT.

This effect was seen in the bluest states (California, New York, etc.), the reddest states (Louisiana, Oklahoma, etc.), and all battlegrounds in between.

• Collectively, the Democratic Party lost ~2.1 million registered voters, while the Republican Party gained ~2.4 million.
• The overall US voting-age population increased by ~10.5 million over the same period.

Dems have also struggled to gain new members. Democrats accounted for 34% of new voter registrations nationwide in 2018, while Republicans stood at 20%. Yet by 2024, Republicans had overtaken Democrats among newly registered voters (29% to 26%).

Party analysts say they’ve been self-sabotaging

A number of Democratic polling experts have recently suggested that the party’s old way of registering voters is now backfiring on them.

• In recent years, the Democratic Party has mostly worked through nonprofit voter registration groups to target young people and people of color in general, rather than explicitly seeking new voters who identify as Democrats.
• But President Trump has upended that calculation by earning strong support from younger Americans—mostly males—and working-class nonwhite voters, especially Latinos.

Zoom out: This push comes as both parties are in the midst of a push to redraw state congressional maps ahead of the 2026 midterm elections so each party can gain more House seats from states where they hold firm majorities.

California Democrats recently approved a November ballot measure to that effect, after Texas Republicans approved a new state map pushed by President Trump. The current US President’s party typically loses significant ground in the House each midterm election, in an ongoing trend that dates back to 1974.

📊 Flash poll (long-form): In your opinion, what’s the main reason(s) behind the decline in Democratic support among registered US voters since 2020? The most thought-provoking and insightful answers will be featured in tomorrow’s newsletter.

• Click here to leave a response.

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BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 🏦 Fed Chair Jerome Powell delivered his annual address at Jackson Hole, Wyoming, in which he signaled that the central bank could cut rates at its next meeting in September.
• 🪙 Ether, the cryptocurrency that powers the world's second-most valuable blockchain, eclipses 2021 record-high, reaching ~$5,000/coin.
• 🌎 At least three countries—Belgium, Denmark and New Zealand—halt mail shipments to US due to confusion over upcoming end of “de minimis” tax exemption; Germany, France, Britain, and India plan to follow suit this week.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

in partnership with Vena

• 🏈 #22 Iowa State beat #17 Kansas State in Dublin, Ireland, on Saturday to kick off Week 0 of the college football season. | 🏌️ Tommy Fleetwood wins PGA Tour Championship, in his first-ever victory at a PGA Tour event. | ⚾ Chinese Taipei shuts out Nevada 7-0 to win first Little League World Series title since 1996.
• ✍️ Michael Jordan/Kobe Bryant dual autograph card reportedly sells for $12.9 million to anonymous bidder; it marks the second-most expensive sports collectible of all time, behind Babe Ruth's 1932 World Series "called shot" jersey ($24.1 million).
• 👮 Menendez brothers Erik and Lyle denied parole due to years of “rule-breaking” while behind bars; they can re-apply after the minimum three years. | Rapper Lil Nas X arrested and briefly hospitalized after he was found walking around Los Angeles in his underwear; he also allegedly punched an officer twice in the face when approached.

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SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• 📱 Apple is in talks with Google to use its Gemini AI model in a revamped version of Siri, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.
• 🦒 Giraffe study examining genetic data reveals there are four distinct species of giraffe, not just one as long assumed; new taxonomy will enable more nuanced understandings of population threats and targeted conservation efforts.
• 🚘 Waymo granted its first permit to begin testing autonomous vehicles in New York City.

US, WORLD & POLITICS

• 🏛️ President Trump suggests deploying National Guard troops to Chicago and New York, using his recent actions in Washington, DC, as a template.
• 🧑‍⚖️ Federal judge orders most of Florida’s “Alligator Alcatraz” immigration detention center to be dismantled within 60 days due to its environmental impact.
• ⚖️ DOJ releases interviews conducted last month between Ghislaine Maxwell—convicted associate of sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein—and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. | FBI executes court-authorized search of home and office of John Bolton, a first-term Trump admin national security adviser who later grew critical of Trump.

☝️ A 65-foot electric “seaglider” that can fly above the water at speeds up to 180 miles per hour is being tested in Rhode Island. The craft, inspired by seabirds, could cut trips like Miami → Manhattan to just ~1 hour.

🤔 Did you know? Some modern cruise ships are longer than the Eiffel Tower is tall. For example, Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas measures ~1,200 feet long, while the Eiffel Tower stands at 1,083 feet (including the antenna).

📰 Worth a read: How the Domino’s pizza tracker conquered the business world

🖱️ Clickbait: The nation that wants you to embrace your sleepy side

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Monday: President Trump to host South Korean President Lee Jae Myung at the White House; Day 2 of tennis’ US Open

Tuesday: National Dog Day

Wednesday: Nvidia reports Q2 earnings

Thursday: US pending home sales data for July

Friday: US global ‘de minimis’ tariff exemption set to end for low-cost goods; The Roses hits theaters; Sabrina Carpenter releases new album Man’s Best Friend

On Friday, we covered how American families are increasingly facing a childcare conundrum: either pay a massive daycare bill, or stay home with the kids and sacrifice the paycheck that covers it.

❓ Our question to you: In your opinion, what’s the best solution to sharply rising childcare prices across America?

• “Use or modify existing public infrastructure (schools) to provide daycare services to children, who will later enter K-12+. This should allow consistency in development, and security of preschoolers. Schools should evolve into a matrix of daycare, educational, and community functions that benefit all.”
• “Universal daycare and preschool. At the end of the day, we want people to make money to spend money. That is hard to do when so much is going towards daycare or parents can't work because it costs too much. By making it available for everyone, you have people being able to work, make money, and spend that money which helps the economy.”
• “I believe we need to provide stronger support for families to have a parent at home with their children. Unfortunately, staying home as a primary caretaker is not financially possible for many families. Offering subsidies for a primary caregiver, whether a mother, father, or grandparent, to care for children would make a significant difference for growing families.”

Click here to read more of the most thoughtful longform responses.

+Note: Some responses may be slightly edited for clarity/length; Sample size: We received 105 longform responses.

Guess the definitions of the following Greek/Latin root words:

1. Calc
2. Cylind
3. Fals
4. Lun
5. Ov

Meet Craig Clark, a retired IT pro who spends his days turning dusty old computers into digital lifelines—rightfully earning his nickname, The Tech Fairy. Over the past 8 years, Clark has refurbished and donated 700+ devices to people around Sarasota, Florida, who couldn’t otherwise afford one.

1. Calc = Stone (e.g., calcium)
2. Cylind = Roll (cylinder)
3. Fals = Deceive (falsity)
4. Lun = Moon (lunar)
5. Ov = Egg (oval)